The Florestan Trio was formed in 1995.

This chamber group includes pianist Susan Tomes, violinist Anthony Marwood and cellist Richard Lester.

Recorded in Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom in December 2000, this CD Schubert Piano Trio in B flat major was first released in November 2001.

The total playing time of this CD is about 59 minutes.

It features Schubert’s

1. all four movements of Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat major D898
2. Notturno in E flat major D897
3. Piano trio movement in B flat major D28

While I really love the delightful tune of the piano trio in B flat major, I must say I’d personally opt for the slightly more energetic piece of Piano Trio in E flat major if I must pick only one favorite among Schubert’s work.

Recorded in December 2001 and released in July 2002, the total playing time of this CD is about 58 minutes.

Since the original fourth movement was considered to be too lengthy, Schubert had to made two cuts, totalling 98 bars, before people would accept to perform this piece, Piano Trio in E flat major, in concerts.

In this CD, The Florestan Trio provided both the revised as well as the original versions of this fourth movement for our listening pleasure.

If you’d like to sample the recordings of The Florestan Trio, please visit the web site of Hyperion Records.

Other Related Link:

• Virtual Sheet Music – F.Schubert: Trio No.2 Op.100 for violin, cello & piano.

As I was trying to preset a few radio stations on my machine, I tuned into a classical music radio station just when they were broadcasting the fourth movement of Schubert’s Piano Trio in B flat major by The Gryphon Trio.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Gryphon Trio, The Gryphon Trio is a Canadian chamber group that includes violinist Annalee Patipatanakoon, pianist Jamie Parker and cellist Roman Borys. [As I've enjoyed the performance of the Canadian Parkers on Mozart: Concertos - 1 piano, 2 pianos, 3 pianos, I have since learned to pay closer attention to the news and directions of some of the prominent Canadian musicians and this group, The Gryphon Trio, is among one of them.]

This fourth movement of Schubert’s Piano Trio in B flat major is roughly about 9-10 minutes long.

While the expression was certainly delightful, this piano trio was composed at the time when Schubert was suffering terribly from his ill health in 1827.

To sample this exuberant piece, please go to Schubert: Complete Piano Trios.

Why?

Because I’ve often found his music far too complex.

I don’t know about you, but whenever I notice a music piece that is trying to tell me a lot of “overwhelming stuff”, I’d mentally make an excuse and switch off the CD player.

From the pure standpoint as an audience, I’ve often felt drown by the messages being conveyed from Shostakovich. Due to my own incomprehension about the political climate and tension of the Soviet Union in the early half of the 20th century, I have to admit it has taken me quite a long time before I’m able to sit down patiently enough to open my ears and listen to an entire CD of Shostakovich.

So, what makes me feel comfortable enough now to write a post on Shostakovich’s Opus 87: 24 Preludes and Fugues?

From quite a while back, I was given a CD set of Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by the performer Tatiana Nikolayeva.

While I was very thankful for the set, I cringed because of the name Shostakovich.

Due to my biased attitude, I was never relaxed enough to appreciate any of the preludes and fugues.

Because of my usual reflex of agitation, I found myself judging and criticizing Nikolayeva’s interpretations with phrases like “oh, this is really slow…”, or “watch out now, the notes are going to clash right here, any time now…yuck!”.

In a way, I felt totally ashamed of my intolerance towards the music of Shostakovich.

To amend my silly and immature behavior, I decided to research, read and learn a bit more about the Russian history as well as the life of Shostakovich.

On one fine morning in April 2008, I was looking up some pianists’ information when I came across the name of David Jalbert. Haven’t heard of him before, I was surprised when I actually stopped what I was doing and listened attentively to a sample clip of Prelude No.13 of Opus 87 by Jalbert.

Since I fully enjoyed the interpretation, I decided to purchase the two-CD set on Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op87.

Unlike Nikolayeva’s, I do not seem to feel agitated or repelled by Jalbert’s interpretation.

Rather, Jalbert’s interpretations seem to give me some implications as to how much the music of J.S. Bach must have been influencing and inspiring Shostakovich when he worked on and composed this cycle of 24 Preludes and Fugues in the 1950s.

If you’re like me who have had some reservations on the music of Shostakovich, I strongly recommend you go ahead and check out the mp3 samples of Jalbert’s interpretation on Amazon now.

I hope you’ll enjoy the samples as much as I did.

Have a happy listening!

So, it’s a relief for me to hear from Angela Hewitt that it isn’t quite necessary to disconnect all the notes in an abrupt manner in order to phrase the singing melody of the Bach pieces.

What I truly enjoy about this DVD set Angela Hewitt: Bach Performance on the Piano is that Angel Hewitt uses various examples to introduce the music of Bach to her audience.

There are altogether two discs in this DVD set:

• DVD One covers a two-hour lecture.
• DVD Two is a recital that includes
  • Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV828 (33 minutes 7 seconds),
  • Italian Concerto in F major, BWV971 (13 minutes 38 seconds) and
  • Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, BWV903 (13 minutes and 2 seconds).

Without getting into too many technical details in her lecture, Hewitt manages to capture the essentials (such as learning a fugue, pedalling, interpreting rhythmic alterations and adding ornaments) while taking her time to invite her audience to appreciate the music of Bach. As an educator, Hewitt also advises how important it is to learn each piece by heart as well as not to overlook the basics such as denoting the appropriate fingering on the music scores and taking the time to warm up before playing each piece at its suggested pace.

If you would like to gain insights onto appreciating the music of J. S. Bach, this DVD set Angela Hewitt: Bach Performance on the Piano would be a very good complement to your library. I believe this DVD set would also be a wonderful gift for those who are currently learning to play the music of Bach.

To learn more on this product, please visit the Hyperion Records web site.

Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt is going to share the music of Bach with the world in the next 14 months.

To coincide with the tour, Hyperion will be releasing a re-issue of the Well-Tempered Clavier recording in a 4-CD box set at a special price in September. Please click here to check out the details of this limited special edition.

To find out more on the tour, please visit BachWorldTour.com.

Other Related Links:

• YouTube – Angela Hewitt Live in Concert.
• Virtual Sheet Music – J.S.Bach: Prelude & Fugue I and II – Book I for piano solo (or harpsichord).

But since I was looking for a violin solo CD, I decided to give this one a try.

I must say I am amazed by the superb techniques of Angele Dubeau.

In this CD, Dubeau has selected music from the Baroque period as well as from the more contemporary folk, jazz and tango:

• Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695 – 1764): Caprice No. 9 in C major
• George Enescu (1881 – 1955): Prelude Op. 9, No. 1;
• Astor Piazzolla (1921 – 1992): Etude-Tango No. 1, 3, and 4;
• Alan Ridout ( 1934 – ): Ferdinand le taureau/Ferdinand the Bull;
• Srul Irving Glick (1934 – 2002): Serenade & dance;
• Dave Brubeck (1920 – ): Bourree;
• Bartolomeo Campagnoli (1751- 1827): Divertimento Op. 18, No. 7

Out of the entire CD, I find the interpretation of Ferdinand the Bull the most interesting and expressive. Not only is the music fun to listen, the narration is very whimsical.

To sample the performance, please visit amazon.com
.

But since I’ve acquired the Tchaikovsky box set by Mikhail Pletnev and Russian National Orchestra from Virgin Classics, I have slowly begun to open myself up to welcome the experience of listening to piano concertos.

Just recently, I’ve purchased two CDs that also feature Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op.23.

1. Martha Argerich, which features Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and The Nutcracker – Suite (for two pianos)
2. Yevgeny Sudbin, which features Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Medtner Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op.33

Among the three performances (Pletnev’s, Argerich’s, Sudbin’s), I like the one by Argerich the most.

Perhaps because it’s a live recording, there is a sense of spontaneity that makes the piece a bit more outstanding, if not captivating.

In addition, this CD features The Nutcracker – Suite (for two pianos) with Nicolas Economou.

As I love to collect piano transcriptions of ballet music, I was really thrilled when I saw the Suite listed on the CD.

If you’re looking for a slightly more polished interpretation of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1, I would suggest the performance by Yevgeny Sudbin.

A hybrid disc that plays on both CD and SACD players, this performance was recorded in February 2006 in Brazil.

While I am no expert in classical music, I find the interpretation of Sudbin engaging.

Although not as fiery as Argerich’s, Sudbin delivers the piece in a way that somehow suggested to me that he could be trying to convey the possible emotional agony that the composer might have suffered in his life when he became inspired to write the concerto in the 1870s.

To sample Sudbin’s performance, please visit the web site of BIS Records.

Other Related Links:

• Virtual Sheet Music – P.Tchaikovsky: Concerto in B flat minor Op.23 No.1 for piano & orchestra.
• Virtual Sheet Music – P.Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite for piano solo.

“Why did you mention the name of the CD Mozart: Concertos 1 piano, 2 pianos, 3 pianos by the Canadian Parkers when you blogged about Mozart Mendelssohn Bruch Double Piano Concertos by the Pekinel Sisters yesterday?”

I mentioned the name of the CD Mozart: Concertos 1 piano, 2 pianos, 3 pianos because of one simple reason:

I enjoy the performance as well as the sound quality of the CD.

Well… actually, there’s more to it…

1. both CDs feature the same Mozart Concerto for Two Pianos in E flat major, K.365
2. the sound quality of this CD by the Canadian Parkers is slightly better than that of the Pekinels, possibly because the Parkers’ performance was recorded in 2006 when that of the Pekinels was recorded way back in 1998
3. Jon Kimura Parker and James Parker are brothers (although they are not twins like the Pekinels)

This CD, Mozart: Concertos 1 piano, 2 pianos, 3 pianos, was recorded live with the CBC Radio Orchestra on January 8, 2006 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

The total playing time of the CD is about 76 minutes.

It features Mozart (1756 – 1791)

1. Concerto No.21 for Piano in C major, K.467
   • piano performed by Jon Kimura Parker
   • this piece was written in Vienna in 1785
2. Concerto No.7 for Three Pianos in F major, K.242
   • pianos performed by James Parker, Jon Kimura Parker, Ian Parker (cousin of the Parker brothers)
   • this piece was possibly composed in 1776
3. Concerto No.10 for Two Pianos in E flat major, K.365/316a
   • pianos performed by Jon Kimura Parker, James Parker
   • this piece was possibly composed during the years of 1777 and 1779

Since piano was still at its stage of infancy at the time of Mozart, you may notice a very vague resemblance of how a harpsichord may have sounded when you listen to the piano melodies.

To find out more about the CD or the Parkers, go to CBC Records.

Julia Fischer is among one of them.

Born in 1983, Fischer has been performing violin since she was very young.

Her first CD, Russian Violin Concertos was released in fall 2004 and it was very well-received by the public. In fact, her debut won an “Editor’s Choice” from Gramophone in January 2005.

This CD, Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto was recorded with the Russian National Orchestra back in April 2006.

The total playing time of the CD is about 68 minutes.

It features Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893)

• Violin Concerto in D, Op.35
• Serenade melancolique, Op.26 for violin and orchestra
• Valse – Scherzo, Op.35 for violin and orchestra
• Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op.42 for violin and piano

This CD receives a 10/10 score on Classics Today.

I find that I begin to grow into liking the performance of Fischer after repeatedly listening to the entire recording.

If you would like to listen to some music samples from this album, you pay preview the tracks here.

Enjoy!

Other Related Link:

• Virtual Sheet Music – P.Tchaikovsky: Concerto in D major Op.35 (New Edition) for violin & piano.

The Pekinels are twin sisters.

Born in Istanbul, they have studied music in France, German and the United States, and have won prizes as piano soloists as well as a duo in numerous international competitions.

This single disc Double Piano Concertos is recorded back in September 1998.

A 79-minute recording, this disc features

1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)
   Concerto for two pianos and orchestra, K.365 in E flat major
   • This piano concerto was possibly composed during the years of 1777 and 1779. It is believed that this double concerto was performed by Mozart along with his sister Nannerl on a sibling tour.
2. Max Bruch (1838 – 1920)
   Concerto for two pianos and orchestra, Op.88a in A flat minor
   • According to the liner notes, this concerto is a re-worked version of a suite for organ and orchestra by Bruch.
3. Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1947)
   Concerto for two pianos and orchestra in E major
   • Composed when he was fourteen, this was the first of two concertos for two pianos by Mendelssohn.

Instead of playing next to one another or having eye contact during performances, the Pekinel Sisters often choose to play back-to-back on their individual pianos.

Their performances are superb and their interpretations are often very pleasant to the ears.

I highly recommend this CD by the Pekinel Sisters along with Mozart: Concertos 1 piano, 2 pianos, 3 pianos by the Canadian Parkers.

You’ll definitely want to own a copy if you’re a fan of the piano concertos!

Related Posts: last updated as of May 21, 2007

• Mozart: Concertos – 1 piano, 2 pianos, 3 pianos